Various types of protective covers which protect golf clubs have been disclosed. Many such covers protect a golf club by fitting over a head portion thereof. While such conventional covers constructed of a layer of cloth, canvas or other similar material can protect the golf clubs from damage which may result when a golf club bag holding the clubs is jostled while being carried, addition protection is needed when the golf club bag and clubs are transported greater distances, for example, by an airplane or other motorized conveyance. When a golf club bag is used to transport golf clubs over long distances, a protective cover which generally resembles a "hood" is often used to protect and retain the golf clubs within the bag. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,563 to Henrich and U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,594 to Rupe. Like golf club covers, protective covers for the golf club bag are typically constructed of cloth, canvas or other similar material.
Typically, the protective cover is positioned over the ends of the clubs protruding from a generally cylindrical opening located at the top of the golf club bag and secured firmly to the sides of the golf club bag. In this manner, the clubs are retained within the bag and will not slid out of the bag if dropped or thrown, for example, when loaded onto a conveyor system which transports the golf clubs to a baggage claim area within an airport. However, while protective covers will often successfully retain golf clubs within a golf club bag, they provide little, if any, protection from damage due to sharp blows or strikes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,475 to Jack discloses an inflatable protective cover suitable for attachment to a golf club bag. While the inflatable protective cover disclosed in Jack will likely provide greater protection than prior, non-inflatable, protective covers, it is contemplated that the protective cover disclosed in Jack is susceptible to unnecessarily high failure rates under certain conditions. As those conditions most often arise while the golf club bag is being transported, the inflatable protective cover will most likely fail when it is needed most. More specifically, a conventionally designed inflatable protective cover is susceptible to changes in air pressure within the inflatable air bladder, relative to the air pressure outside the bladder. For example, a sudden drop in outside pressure, for example, due to an altitude change, can cause the protective cover incorporating the air bladder to literally "pop off" the golf club bag to which it is attached. Increases in temperature which cause the air within the inflatable air bladder to expand may also have the same effect. Finally, exterior objects, when pressed against the inflatable protective cover are also cause for concern. For example, if the golf club bag is stored under cramped conditions where the attached inflatable protective cover is pressed against a wall or other items being stored, a compressive force applied to the protective cover may cause air within one part of the inflatable bladder to be forced into another part of the bladder. The increased pressure within one portion of the air bladder may cause it to deform in a manner which would cause the protective cover to detach from the golf club bag or, under severe compressive compressions, to result in a decompressive structural failure of the inflatable air bladder itself.
Therefore, what is needed is an inflatable protective cover for golf club bags which is specially designed to handle changes in air pressure. It is, therefore, the object of this invention to provide such an inflatable protective cover for golf club bags.